Here's an outstanding cybernetic TF story: Sync, by Kotep. It's unusual in conveying how such a transformation might actually be perceived, first person, rather than merely describing the appearance, as if being viewed.

You might recall me posting a few excerpts from fxscreamer's forthcoming comic; that's finally about to launch! Updates will be arriving weekly, and yes, the creator has built up a substantial buffer of future strips. ^_^

Interestingly, the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is actually quite young, originating in a campaign for Montgomery Ward in 1939.

My mention of CHIRP Radio last time around lead me to wonder: what stations do you enjoy that have some local relevance? That is, they're not purely virtual, but try to promote artists and gigs in their locality, and suchlike.

The fourth (bearing in mind the first part was subsequently split into two) part of Agent A: A Puzzle in Disguise (iOS, Android) has now been released as a free update to the app. ^_^ The release notes say they're aiming for Q2 2018 for the fifth.

I think tonight will feature Valerian, which I picked up on its recent iTunes release, but haven't quite managed to find time for yet. The opening minutes suggest it'll be living up to my hopes, though. ^_^

Why yes, I am trying for a slightly improved frequency of journal updates than of late. ^_^; (Paradoxically, I suspect that having less spare time in the near future will actually help matters significantly)

Absolutely loved it! That opening sequence indeed set the tone well. ^_^ I just wish they'd swapped the lead roles around - I was much more engaged by Loreline than her somewhat hapless sidekick. Nonetheless, a feast visually, and a rare big screen example of genuine sci-fi, rather than just another Western-in-Space or Invasion Tale.

Wow, that's pretty lopsided! Looking at BoxOfficeMojo's entry for it shows a US gross of $40m, vs worldwide $184m! They're estimating a $177m budget (hoo! Not difficult to believe - it definitely looked like an expensive production), so it's presumably been at least mildly profitable, once marketing costs are taken into account, plus home sales.

(Rather a pity My Little Pony: The Movie doesn't appear to be coming with any extras - would've been fun to have a commentary track. I'll keep the pre-order regardless - it was a lot of fun: TBH, I enjoyed it much more than Moana, whose pacing felt rather wonky, or Frozen, which just didn't really engage me much)

One thing that I found rather sad is that I learned Loreline is an 11th century French peasant girl who was rescued by the guy, then she proves to be more competent than he! I wish they'd played with that story a bit.

It is disappointing how it performed here, I think it was too long/confusing for most American audiences, I'm glad that it did internationally. Perhaps he can do a sequel in Europe that we can eventually see on DVD over here. I could be satisfied with that.